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Topic: My first resto: 1977 TA (Read 112265 times)

So I've managed to continue another forum member's TA project. Bought forum member Ben's 77TA from the guy he sold it to. Some history on the car from getting info from Ben.

Originally bought new in Minnesota. Moved to California in 1982. Sat under a tree from 1997 to 2011. Odometer shows 65K miles...hopeful that it never rolled over given how much it sat but the wear and tear on the car does make me think it rolled over once.

The car has a base 400 with the turbo 350 automatic tranny. No AC, no t tops, and pretty much no options other than the deluxe saddle interior. Looks like everything is numbers matching. It has a newer alternator, newer windshield, and newer front brakes. A lot of engine work by Ben to get it smog legal. Probably the best part of the car are the new Firestone Indy 500s that handle really well given how worn out the suspension is. The rest of the car looks pretty original to me.

For the most part nothing (at least nothing positive) was done since Ben sold the car to the prior owner so Ben's pics pretty much look like it does now. Ben's got a nice site entailing what he did to the car here:

My plans for the car at this point are to get the exterior to look like what it did originally, outside of potentially the wheels. I'm still not certain if I'm going to restore the original snowflake wheels or buy the Year Ones. I plan to put the 77 decal package on it as it looks to have the 78 decals on it. But before I get to the exterior I've got a lot of the basics to get fixed up first.

The first thing done to the car was get the smog done. That was successful thanks to Ben's work there. Got the registration done and title transferred to me. I think Ben's name was still on it if I remember correctly:-)

Now I'm on to fixing some leaks. Got a steam cleaning done to the undercarriage and engine last week and identified what was really still leaking. Looks like a leak from the timing cover, the valve covers are leaking, and there's a tranny leak. Shocks are also all leaking too. So getting all of these leaky items fixed up this week. Replacing the shocks with some new Bilsteins.

Then I'm on to replacing the rear brakes.

The steam cleaning revealed a few rust spots but should hopefully only require some spot repairs. That's the next item. Floor pans may need some replacement too.

After the rust repair, suspension then needs all bushings replaced but springs looks to be in decent shape. It's naturally lowered itself over the years:-)

We'll see how the above items go before we get to the interior and exterior. Seats look to be in decent shape at least.

Will post some updated pics this weekend after this first phase is done with.

OK, just completed the first round of the resto efforts on this car. There were quite a few problems when things were opened up a bit more.

First, I had the only steam cleaning place in town steam clean the engine & undercarriage.

Brakes - new rear drums & shoes from Centric, flushed some air from the lines, freed up the parking brake (surface rust on the cables needed to be removed). Replaced caliper hardware. Still not totally thrilled with the pedal feel when stopped...but definitely better stopping power now. Repainted rusty looking master cylinder.

Suspension: Replaced left and right upper control arm bushings, left and right lower control arm bushings. Replaced bushings in front sway bars. Replaced rear shackle set. Aligned the front end. Lowered the car in the front 7/8" (springs were cut) to level the ride height to match with the naturally lowered rear end:-). Replaced leaky monroe shocks with new "vintage" Bilsteins.

Definitely looks like I need to update the lighting though..not the greatest visibility. Shifter column is not lighting up either.

The cluster got some water in it over the years so the blue paint inside is faded a bit and leads to less light out. Not to mention several of the bulb holders were loose, so they occasionally came undone and needed some encouragement at first to stay in and lit. The shift indicator is because the previous owner wrapped all of the wires for the radio together and pulled that wire in as well, leading to it being *just* too short to stay fully engaged all the time, so it would periodically want to come out as well.

Thats coming up nicely!If you have trouble with the key not coming out of the ignition again, check the back drive mechanism from the gearbox. sometimes the collar in the steering column doesn't move far enough to unlock the key from the lock...you can twist the collar by hand from the driver's seat if needed.

The cluster got some water in it over the years so the blue paint inside is faded a bit and leads to less light out. Not to mention several of the bulb holders were loose, so they occasionally came undone and needed some encouragement at first to stay in and lit. The shift indicator is because the previous owner wrapped all of the wires for the radio together and pulled that wire in as well, leading to it being *just* too short to stay fully engaged all the time, so it would periodically want to come out as well.

Yeah the cluster lighting isn't great. The headlights to me aren't great either...but did notice they're sealed beam Sylvania Halogens. They say A21 on them. Any idea if there are better (brighter) lighting options than these? Or maybe it just needs a relay kit to power them better?

Fixed the transmission issue where it was not shifting into park. 15 minute fix - bent shifter rod and some adjustment did the trick there. Hopefully it continues to be fixed. Sure glad I got the brakes and parking brake fixed early on - as otherwise I may have run into the neighbor's car.

New issues:

After the adjustment the ignition is not automatically flipping back after starting the engine. Not the biggest issue but will try to get that adjusted later.

Parking brake light is now staying on post parking brake fix.

Today I couldn't get the driver's door to unlock. Had to go in the passenger door - which itself seems like it's going to bend the key. When I got to work in the car today I was able to open up the driver side though.

Cold starts in the morning (it's probably low 50s in the morning right now) are now requiring 2 turnovers of the engine. Revving it a little and giving it a little more time before I shift into drive. It didn't seem to do this before I got the engine issues repaired. Car is running nice and smooth after that - and all other times of day it starts right up. Maybe the car needs adjustment or this is just an old car thing.

Not a new issue...but the weatherstripping is totally shot on the car - sounds like the doors are going to fall off when going over bumps. Really looking forward to doing some body work here soon and taking care of that one...as it's really annoying.

Debating about doing the body work partially. The rusted hood logo really needs to go too. May just get the hood and shaker painted up. That would make the car look a tad more presentable.

Anyways, been driving the TA back and forth work all week successfully at least. Starting to become a bit of a money pit but it's my baby now- so I'm still committed to getting her back in her prime now. Crossing fingers the major mechanical issues (engine, brakes, suspension) are behind me at least.

The TA seemed to be "creeping up" when at a full stop, even after replacing the worn out rear drums and shoes. Solved the issue with a new master cylinder. Pretty much the entire brake system has been renewed except for the calipers. Those calipers still look to be doing their job ok. Hopefully for a while...

Exhaust manifolds had a leak. Needed new gaskets on both sides. Hoping this is the final leak I have to resolve. Sure seems like all of the gaskets and rubber based parts like bushings need replacement on these old cars. Even on a car that spent most of its life in California.

Starter wouldn't flip back after starting up the engine. Lubed the steering assembly...fixed that one.

Car was requiring 2 starts to stay fired up...carb needed adjustment. We'll see how this goes for a few days.

Mechanically I think this TA should be safe and dependable now. Will get into the exterior / interior restoration after the new year begins. This has definitely been quite a learning experience. It's been amazing how an old car can seem to mask its issues in a test drive.

Thanks guys. My biggest recommendation from this experience is to check and fix the brakes and parking brake first before doing anything else on these cars. If I hadn't done that I would have a big bill right now for hitting my neighbor's car...or even worse I could've rolled right into oncoming traffic.

Thanks guys. My biggest recommendation from this experience is to check and fix the brakes and parking brake first before doing anything else on these cars.

Sage advice, Stros. I took delivery on a 77 that had no rear brake lines, frozen parking brake and weak fronts. Trying to roll it off the truck in the middle of the night is darn scary. Didn't help that the driver cut the car loose before putting on the ramps assuming brakes existed. It rolled quick, hit hard on the pavement, cracked the windshield and front flares. At least it was a full restoration job, so not a great loss in the grand scheme.

Turns out that I needed new manifolds - and not just a gasket. That was a nice unexpected hit to the wallet.

And then it rained yesterday - and I got to see for myself how absolutely no weatherstripping is left on the car and the rear window could pretty much be pushed out by hand. There is literally nothing holding that glass in any longer. So I'm popping that out and getting that replaced with a new one. The old one was badly scratched.

Luckily it turned out that the rust around the rear window wasn't as bad as we had thought. It just needs some minor hole repair. That actually was the most concerning part of the entire car when I bought it...so at least some good news there. Bad news is that I can't wait to get this repaired any longer. The rear package tray looked like it may have already gotten some mold growing. It was a disaster to begin with too.

So now that the rear windshield area is being taken apart we're going to redo the interior. New package tray, headliner, dome light, and a new seat kit is on order. Going to have a local place redo the carpets that were pretty nasty too.

Ben - FYI we found some more of the plant material you mentioned when we pulled the glass out. A bunch of pine needles in there.

Seems like the body work and interior work are going to be starting a little earlier than I was hoping...

You should have seen the front! I drove it home from buying it in the dark with my head hanging out the window. Bummer about the exhaust manifold, never had any leaks when I had it but these things just have a way of creeping up and surprising you.

Luckily it turned out that the rust around the rear window wasn't as bad as we had thought. It just needs some minor hole repair. That actually was the most concerning part of the entire car when I bought it...so at least some good news there. Bad news is that I can't wait to get this repaired any longer. The rear package tray looked like it may have already gotten some mold growing. It was a disaster to begin with too.

Unfortunate. I rarely drove the car in the rain and always had it covered under the carport, so I never bothered to tackle it short of hosing it down when I first got it to see if there was any trunk related leaking (there wasn't, but that was several years back). It was on a long list of "to-dos" that always got put off because they weren't pressing as it ran and drove just fine in nice weather.

Ben - FYI we found some more of the plant material you mentioned when we pulled the glass out. A bunch of pine needles in there.

Doesn't surprise me. I had already blown out a bunch of it from the rear window without removing the moldings so the dirt and grime was mostly gone, but needles are always unfortunate. Sitting under a tree neglected for over 10 years does that sadly. Good to hear you are at least enjoying it. I was afraid the knucklehead who bought it from me would have really screwed it up.

From the pics above you can see a few repairs had to be made to the floor pan. Repainted and rustproofed it. Happy to know my feet have no chance of going thru the floor now:-)

There was basically a line of rust surrounding the rear window. That's been repaired now. Just waiting on the rear window to arrive - got a new one on order from PPG coming from Texas. There was no hope of polishing out the scratches on that rear glass.

Waiting on the seats to arrive...new carpets should go in this week. Decided to go with a slightly darker shade of carpet - closer to the color of the dash. Seats/Headliner/package tray should match the original. The door panel vinyl is in good shape still so retaining that...the map pockets will probably get replaced too.

There was mold growing in the back of the trunk in addition to the package tray area. That's all removed now.

Some other items I need to add pics of:

The manifolds look great. Found some used ones and had them machined. The entire block now looks brand new with those on there.

New 65 watt headlights put in and had the wiring completely replaced.

There's still some play in the shifter so we're still digging into that one a bit.

The TA should be about ready for paint after this interior/rear window work is done. The main rust concerns - the rear window area and the floor pans - are done with now.

Today's broken part: the valve body is broken in the transmission. That was the reason for the car not shifting into park. Man, seems like this is turning into a full on frame on resto at this point.

Good news is interior is about done. Need to pick a stereo still.

The body has a few minor rust repairs left. Quarter panels and the hood needs a little patching. The structural items that keep the hood together need to be rewelded on a bit. Hood is bending and will crack the paint if I don't get that fixed before going to paint.

Body work started and what was thought to be a minor amount of rust removal is now appearing to be major. Here are some pics of the rear quarters and right in front of the rear wheels. Lots of bondo and it looks like they tried to hide an accident. Seems like by the time I'm done with this thing I could've just done a frame off resto. Too late to turn back now given that the mechanicals, suspension and interior are done. Wish we were able to have found this earlier.

Just got back from the shop. Theyre going to fabricate the drop off. Still evaluating if we'll need to fix or completely replace the rear bumper and left fender flare. There's a good amount of bondo all over the quarter panels. There's a lot of scaling under the bumper too. I think I may need to label this thread my first and last resto:-)

Also just received a few more parts sitting and waiting to be installed.

New AAC floor mats with Firebird emblem. Really happy with them. Got them from Ecklers.

Stereo system: RetroSound model 2 (with apple connectivity and Bluetooth) Turnswitch HQ stereo center speaker unit, Infinity reference 6x9s for the rear. Got a hidden antenna on order. Decided that I'm just going to fill the hole for the power antenna. I've not had much luck with power antennas over the years. Plus I barely listen to radio these days anyways. Also just received a new Repro radio faceplate to fit over the Retrosound unit.

Also received a new rear view mirror. While the adhesive I used kept the original mirror up well...the surface rust and water stains are just an eyesore on a new interior. My Repro door sill plates from OER arrived too.

New exhaust tips are on order as well as the replacement bumper has just shipped.

Will post pics once I get these parts in there. Just need to finish the the repair rear of the driver side door and finish the structural reinforcements to the hood and then I think we're ready for paint too.

Today was the big day that my TA went over to the paint and body place. About 6 months later than I had planned. Didn't really want to paint post interior replacement but that's just the way this turned out.

Some better pics of the restored interior below. Sorry should've removed the water bottle and fender flare:-)

Dash bezel is going out to Randy Combs for a restore hence it's not there. Going to be adding AC about halfway thru body work.